F Commerce

Do you still remember the time when you signed up for Facebook? Probably not. It seems as if decades has passed since the beginning of Facebook. In the 21st century, the internet and more recently, social networking sites have been a phenomenon. According to Mitch Joel, the president of Twist Image, if Facebook was a country it would be third largest in population after China and India. With so many traffic on Facebook, businesses have taken advantage of this network to expand the reach to their customers. Some have even started used Facebook as medium to sell their products.

This new form of business was termed, F-commerce. This idea of commerce is shocking, but not unexpected. The retail industry is in the maturity stage and is on the verge of becoming decline. Consumers are constantly finding new ways to shop and physical shopping isn’t has popular as now with so many alternatives. The internet has definitely played a huge role in the creation of these new channels of distribution. Business are beginning to adapt to the consumers’ need to become tech savvy. In addition, the emergence of F-commerce has allowed many companies to customize their business. As mentioned by my classmate, Jessica Lee, given Ebay’s nature of business, they have succeeded in mastering customization through their custom-made email service and timely adjusted price through auctions. One of a key characteristic of customization in Ebay is their use of dynamic pricing, sellers and buyers negotiate in real time and set prices that benefits both parties.